Texas floods death toll rises to 82 as search continues for those still missing
The devastation along the Guadalupe River, outside of San Antonio, has drawn a massive search effort as officials face questions over their preparedness and the speed of their initial actions.
The Texas Hill Country in the central part of the state is naturally prone to flash flooding due to the dry dirt-packed areas where the soil lets rain skid along the surface of the landscape instead of soaking it up.
The flash floods on Friday, local time, started with a particularly bad storm that dropped most of its 30 centimetres of rain in the dark early morning hours.
After a flood watch notice midday on Thursday, the National Weather Service office issued an urgent warning around 4am that raised the potential of catastrophic damage and a severe threat to human life.
By at least 5:20 am, some in the Kerrville City area say water levels were getting alarmingly high.
The massive rain flowing down hills sent rushing water into the Guadalupe River, causing it to rise eight metres in just 45 minutes.
Texas Governor Greg Abbott said on Sunday that there were 41 people confirmed to be unaccounted-for across the state and more could be missing.
In Kerr County, home to youth camps in the Texas Hill Country, searchers have found the bodies of 68 people, including 28 children, Sheriff Larry Leitha said on Sunday afternoon.
Fatalities in nearby counties brought the total number of deaths to 79 as of Sunday evening.
Ten girls and a counsellor were still unaccounted-for at Camp Mystic, a Christian summer camp along the river.
Camp Mystic said it was "grieving the loss" the loss of 27 campers and counsellors as the search continued on Monday for victims of the catastrophic Texas flooding over the Fourth of July holiday weekend.
The statement added another layer of heartbreak to the devastating flooding sent a wall of water through the century-old summer camp.
"We have been in communication with local and state authorities who are tirelessly deploying extensive resources to search for our missing girls," the camp said in a statement posted on its website.
"We are deeply grateful for the outpouring of support from community, first responders, and officials at every level."
For past campers, the tragedy turned happy memories into grief.
Beyond the Camp Mystic participants unaccounted-for, the number of missing from other nearby campgrounds and across the region had not been released.
"We don't even want to begin to estimate at this time," Kerrville city manager Dalton Rice said Saturday, citing the likely influx of visitors during the holiday weekend.
Survivors have described the floods as a "pitch black wall of death" and said they received no emergency warnings.
Kerr County Judge Rob Kelly, who lives along the Guadalupe River, said on Saturday that "nobody saw this coming."
Various officials have referred to it as a "100-year-flood," meaning that the water levels were highly unlikely based on the historical record.
Records behind those statistics don't always account for human-caused climate change. Though it's hard to connect specific storms to a warming planet so soon after they occur, meteorologists say that a warmer atmosphere can hold more moisture and allow severe storms to dump even more rain.
Additionally, officials have come under scrutiny about why residents and youth summer camps along the river were not alerted sooner than 4am or told to evacuate.
Officials noted that the public can grow weary from too many flooding alerts or forecasts that turn out to be minor.
Kerr County officials said they had presented a proposal for a more robust flood warning system, similar to a tornado warning system, but that members of the public reeled at the cost.
On Sunday, officials walked out of a news briefing after reporters asked them again about delays in alerts and evacuations.
The flash floods have erased campgrounds and torn homes from their foundations.
"It's going to be a long time before we're ever able to clean it up, much less rebuild it," Judge Kelly said on Saturday after surveying the destruction from a helicopter.
Other massive flooding events have driven residents and business owners to give up, including in areas struck last year by Hurricane Helene.
The National Weather Service on Thursday advised of potential flooding and then sent out a series of flash flood warnings in the early hours of Friday before issuing flash flood emergencies.
Lieutenant Governor of Texas Dan Patrick said the potential for heavy rain and flooding covered a large area, and "everything was done to give them a heads-up that you could have heavy rain".
However, when asked about how people were notified in Kerr County so that they could get to safety, Judge Kelly said: "We do not have a warning system."
In a press conference on Sunday, local time, a journalist asked officials if six vacancies at the National Weather Service contributed to the surprise warning.
Officials said it was a "good question" and they would "look into it".
The Trump administration has overseen thousands of job cuts from the National Weather Service's parent agency, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), leaving many weather offices understaffed, former NOAA director Rick Spinrad said.
Mr Spinrad said he did not know if those staff cuts factored into the lack of advanced warning for the extreme Texas flooding, but that they would inevitably degrade the agency's ability to deliver accurate and timely forecasts.
US President Donald Trump pushed back when asked on Sunday if federal government cuts hobbled the disaster response or left key job vacancies at the National Weather Service under Mr Trump's oversight.
"That water situation, that all is, and that was really the Biden set-up," he said referencing his Democratic predecessor. "But I wouldn't blame Biden for it, either. I would just say this is 100-year catastrophe."
He declined to answer a question about FEMA, saying only: "They're busy working, so we'll leave it at that."
Mr Trump said he would likely visit the flood zone on Friday.
AP
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News.com.au
4 hours ago
- News.com.au
‘I don't think I'll ever forget': Camp Mystic counsellor on devastating moment after deadly Texas flood
A Camp Mystic counsellor has shared the devastating moment 'I don't think I'll ever forget' in the wake of deadly flooding in Texas over the weekend. The death toll from the catastrophic flooding has surpassed 100 people, as rescuers continued their grim search for those swept away by torrents of water. Among the dead were at least 27 girls and counsellors who were staying at the Christian youth summer camp, which abuts the Guadalupe River. The all-girls camp in Kerr County was housing about 750 people when the floodwaters struck, with the river surging by up to nine metres above its usual level. One counsellor, Holly Kate Hurley, said she was woken at about 1.30am to 'rain … coming through our windows'. 'I woke my girls up, told them to close the windows and then the power just went out, all the fans turned off, running water didn't work,' the 19-year-old told Fox News. 'In the morning, they gathered all the counsellors that were at Cyprus Lake and they told us that two of the cabins with the seven-year-old girls were wiped away and all these girls were missing. 'And we went back to our cabins and tried to keep up good spirits with these young girls. I think I was just in shock.' Ms Hurley also recalled the heartbreaking moment her campers were reunited with their families. 'Seeing little girls run to their parents and just hug them and cry, and also just seeing some parents who were looking for their little girls and they weren't there … That's just a sight I don't think I'll ever forget,' she said. Callie McAlary, who was rescued from Camp Mystic, described the harrowing ordeal over the weekend to Fox News. 'We went to bed thinking it was just a normal thunderstorm. One minute you see lightning strike next to your cabin, and next to you, you hear water's coming up,' the 16-year-old camp attendee said. 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'And it's hard to think about that one minute they were hugging me and the next minute they could be gone.' Sisters heartbreaking final text to parents Two sisters killed in the floods were found with 'their hands locked together', grieving family members said as they continue to search for the girls' missing grandparents. Blair and Brooke Harber, 13 and 11, died while on a family trip in Casa Bonita, a gated community in the town of Hunt that was struck by the devastating deluge early on Friday morning, The New York Post reported. The rushing water woke the girls' father, RJ Harber, around 3.30am, his sister Jennifer told KLOU, and the rain was pounding so hard outside that it was nearly impossible to hear the water pouring through their cabin door. Around the same time, Brooke texted Mr Harber and her maternal grandparents 'I love you', Jennifer wrote on a GoFundMe for the family. Mr Harber and his wife, Annie, shattered a window and clambered outside in a desperate bid to reach their daughters, who were staying in a separate cabin. But the raging waters prevented them from reaching the other structure. In a last-ditch effort, the couple hurried to another neighbour's house and woke the family up to borrow their kayak and paddle through the flood. The waters, however, were too rough, and the parents wound up being rescued along with five surviving neighbours, Jennifer wrote. When the sisters were found 12 hours later and 15 miles away, 'their hands were locked together,' Jennifer told KLOU. Forecasters have warned of more flooding as rain falls on saturated ground, complicating recovery efforts involving helicopters, boats, dogs and some 1750 personnel. 'There is still a threat of heavy rain with the potential to cause flooding,' Texas Governor Greg Abbott said in a statement on Tuesday, with the number of victims expected to rise still. President Donald Trump confirmed he planned to visit Texas this Friday, as the White House slammed critics claiming his cuts to weather agencies had weakened warning systems. 'Blaming President Trump for these floods is a depraved life, and it serves no purpose during this time of national mourning,' White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters. She said the National Weather Service (NWS), which The New York Times reported had several key roles in Texas unfilled before the floods, issued 'timely and precise forecasts and warnings'. Mr Trump has described the floods that struck in the early hours of last Friday as a '100-year catastrophe' that 'nobody expected'. The President, who previously said disaster relief should be handled at the state level, has signed a major disaster declaration, activating fresh federal funds and freeing up resources.
ABC News
6 hours ago
- ABC News
The Texas flood disaster 'nobody expected' sparks questions about what went wrong
Four days after flash flooding devastated central Texas, dozens of people remain missing. At least 100 people have been killed in the disaster, including schoolgirls who had been staying at a riverside summer camp. Their deaths have devastated the local community and reignited a political debate over US President Donald Trump's cuts to the public service. So, how did the flooding catch authorities so off guard? Here are some of the key questions being asked in the aftermath of the tragedy. The National Weather Service (NWS) issued a flood watch on Thursday afternoon local time, advising of potential rainfall of up to 7 inches (17 centimetres). But it was not until the early hours of the next morning, when many people were still asleep, that the warnings became more serious. Alerts were being sent out to enabled mobile phones from 1:14am, with an urgent warning issued at 4:03am. Phone reception in the affected areas can be patchy, and some residents say they did not receive the alerts. 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The area's steep hills, shallow rivers and semi-arid soils mean water can move very quickly through the area, earning it the nickname "flash flood alley". Hatim Sharif, a professor of civil and environmental engineering at the University of Texas, says it is one of the most dangerous places for flash flooding in all of the US. This storm dumped up to 15 inches (38 centimetres) of rain in the worst-affected area, equivalent to several months of its usual annual total. The impact on the Guadalupe River was catastrophic, with waters rising 26 feet (8 metres) in only 45 minutes. Staff at one of the summer camps in the area, the Presbyterian Mo-Ranch Assembly, say they started moving children and staff to higher ground when they noticed the river rising. But the nearby Camp Mystic, a Christian summer camp along the river, has been devastated. Twenty seven of the people killed in floods were campers and counsellors at the camp. Asked why the facility was not evacuated, given its proximity to the river, Kerrville city manager Dalton Rice said it was a "great question" but that authorities were still focused on searching for those missing. Summer camps are a long-standing American tradition during the school holidays, with Camp Mystic attracting children from across the state for nearly 100 years. Chip Roy, a Republican congressman who represents the area, expects a debate over whether similar facilities should now be moved from vulnerable areas. "The response is going to be, 'We've gotta move all these camps — why would you have camps down here by the water?'" the BBC quoted him as saying. "Well, you have camps by the water because it's by the water. You have camps near the river because it's a beautiful and wonderful place to be." The NWS is one of many US government agencies forced to cut its staffing levels under US President Donald Trump's efficiency drives. Tom Fahy from the National Weather Service Employees Organization told NBC that the local weather forecasting offices were adequately staffed ahead of the floods. But he said the San Angelo office, which issued warnings for some of the affected areas, did not have a senior hydrologist or a permanent meteorologist-in-charge. Some experts have questioned whether the vacancies could have affected the level of coordination between the NWS and local officials. The top Democrat in the Senate, Chuck Schumer, has asked a government watchdog to investigate whether staffing vacancies in the area contributed to "delays, gaps or diminished accuracy". "This is a national tragedy which people across the country are mourning. The American people deserve answers," he wrote. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt dismissed criticism of the federal response as a "depraved lie". The president rejected concerns staffing cuts could have hampered the delivery of warnings, describing the floods as a one-in-100-year event. "This was a thing that happened in seconds, nobody expected it, nobody saw it," Mr Trump said, adding that he did not think fired staffers needed to be re-hired. Mr Trump did not comment on his suggestion, made earlier in his second term, that the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) should be abolished. Texas authorities have warned the death toll is likely to rise as search-and-rescue operations continue. Hundreds of volunteers are scouring the area around the Guadalupe River, with the chance of finding survivors diminishing with each day that passes. Residents are also bracing for more heavy rain, which could cause further flooding across the region. Dalton Rice, the city manager in Kerrville, said a full review would be carried out in the hope of improving the area's preparedness for future disasters. "We owe that commitment to the families who are suffering and to every member of our community," he said.
SBS Australia
9 hours ago
- SBS Australia
'Texas is grieving': Campers among over 80 dead in flash floods, dozens still missing
Over 80 people are confirmed dead after flash floods swept through central Texas. Ten girls and a camp counsellor remain missing near the Guadalupe River. Donald Trump is facing criticism over weather agency job cuts amid questions on flood warning failures. Rescue teams are grappling with more rain as the search continues for dozens of people still missing after flash floods hit central Texas, with the death toll climbing past 80. US search teams waded through mud-laden riverbanks and flew over the flood-stricken landscape on the fourth day of the search for survivors after Friday's flash floods. The Guadalupe River that runs through Kerrville was transformed by pre-dawn torrential downpours into a raging torrent in less than an hour on Friday. The dead there included 27 campers and counsellors at the Camp Mystic summer camp, a nearly century-old Christian girls' retreat on the banks of the Guadalupe River, the camp said in a statement. Richard Eastland, 70, the co-owner and director of Camp Mystic, died trying to save the children at his camp during the flood, multiple media including the Austin American-Statesman reported. "Our hearts are broken alongside our families that are enduring this unimaginable tragedy," the camp said in a statement on Monday. Ten girls and a camp counsellor are still missing, officials said on Monday. "Texas is grieving right now," US senator Ted Cruz said. "The pain, the shock of what has transpired these past few days has broken the heart of our state." Freeman Martin, director of the Texas Department of Public Safety, predicted the death toll would rise further as flood waters receded and the search gained momentum. Ginger Turner, and her daughter, Hailey, right, pray during church services held at the Hunt Baptist Church. Their small town sits on the bank of the Guadalupe River and was severely damaged by recent flooding. Source: AP / Rodolfo Gonzalez Authorities also warned that continued rainfall, even if lighter than Friday's deluge, could unleash additional flash floods because the landscape was so saturated. The National Weather Service said that heavy rains and thunderstorms could cause more flooding across the area on Monday. State emergency management officials had warned on Thursday, ahead of the July Fourth holiday, that parts of central Texas faced the possibility of heavy showers and flash floods. But twice as much rain as was predicted ended up falling over two branches of the Guadalupe just upstream of the fork where they converge, sending all of that water racing into the single river channel where it slices through Kerrville, City Manager Dalton Rice said. Search and rescue operations are continuing around the clock, with hundreds of emergency personnel on the ground contending with a myriad of challenges. "It's hot, there's mud, they're moving debris, there's snakes," Martin told reporters on Sunday. Officials said on Saturday that more than 850 people had been rescued, some clinging to trees, after a sudden storm dumped up to 38cm of rain across the region, about 140km northwest of San Antonio. The Federal Emergency Management Agency was activated on Sunday and was deploying resources to Texas after President Donald Trump issued a major disaster declaration, the Department of Homeland Security said. US Coast Guard helicopters and planes were aiding search and rescue efforts. Onlookers survey damage along the Guadalupe River after a flash flood swept through the area. Source: AAP / Eric Gay/AP Trump said on Sunday he would visit the disaster scene, probably this Friday. He has previously outlined plans to scale back the federal government's role in responding to natural disasters, leaving states to shoulder more of the burden themselves. Some experts questioned whether cuts to the federal workforce by the Trump administration, including to the agency that oversees the National Weather Service, led to a failure by officials to accurately predict the severity of the floods and issue appropriate warnings ahead of the storm. Trump's administration has overseen thousands of job cuts from the National Weather Service's parent agency, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, leaving many weather offices understaffed, former NOAA director Rick Spinrad said.
